


Intertwined Fates and Silent Symphonies

by Topsyturvy10



Category: Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, peach gets kidnapped again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 03:57:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21173051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Topsyturvy10/pseuds/Topsyturvy10
Summary: Peach has been kidnapped, yet again. However, some quick thinking and a small amount of discomfort leads to her freedom- at least, freedom to explore Bowser's castle. The Koopa King promises he'll have the Princess head-over-heels for him before the week's end, but it seems another young gentleman has caught her eye...





	1. Freedom

Peach woke up, feeling the smooth silk sheets on top of her. It was another bright day, and-   
  


Wait. She didn’t have silk sheets.    
  
In an effort to get the sheets off of her, she fell out of bed. Her hand instinctively touched at the back of her head- where the impact was the strongest- and winced at the brief flash of pain. Even so, she got up. She headed to the door- locked. She turned around to look for another escape route, when something caught her eye. A black and red dress was hung on the wardrobe door. With a sigh, she donned the garment. It fit her like a glove, and felt as soft as a cloud. She ran her hands down her dress, feeling the lace tickle her currently ungloved hand (the ‘ungloved’ part would, of course, need to be remedied at the earliest convenience.) Peach really had to hand it to her captor- he’d put in a substantial amount of effort to appease her. He’d failed, but she had to credit him nevertheless. 

Peach drew the curtains back, and took a moment to look at ‘her’ room in the light. It was a glorified box more than anything, and she was trapped in it. Waves upon waves of crimson and black, crimson and black, crimson and black. The princess just took a moment to let it all wash over her. 

The bed was leant against the centre of the left wall, directly opposite the dresser- which both, were of course, crimson and black. It was worth noting that jewellery adorned the dresser; twinkling in the sunlight let in. There was a black bookshelf next to it, decorated with lavish books. She picked one of the aforementioned books up and opened it. She was immediately hit with the scent of it, and the lack print stood out among the yellowing pages. She supposed it was something of a shame that she couldn’t read, but ultimately didn’t dwell on it too long.

A sharp knock at the door brought her crashing back to reality. 

“Just- Just a second!” she called out nervously, clumsily attempting to put the book back in its designated place. She head the key turn behind her. She turned around. The door opened slowly…

  
  
  
  


Peach took a step back, not wanting to be in the same room as  _ him. _ To her dismay, he took a larger step forward, trapping her against the wall. He was a beast, even for one of his kind- his seven-feet-tall stature (or was it eight feet?) towering over her, and he looked as though he could crush a man’s skull with his bare hands. A grin appeared on his face, giving him a chance to show off his pearly-white fangs.

“C’mon, sweetheart. You know you love bein’ here; there’s no need to be scared of me.” He placed his hand on her cheek, and she pushed it away in disgust. 

“Yes,” she responded dryly. “I  _ looove _ being here so much, which is why you have to kidnap me in order to bring me here.” He leaned against the bookshelf, and Peach saw her opening. She took another step away from him, and this time he didn’t advance on her. It seemed he didn’t want to push his luck too far.

The Koopa King rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. “You know it isn’t like that, damnit.” He took her arm, and pulled her flush against him. “You know I’m not the bad guy here, don’t lie. Just… give me a chance to prove it; just a week… please?”

Peach sighed, and against her better judgement, nodded. The grin on Bowser’s face came back, and he kissed her softly. “You won’t regret it.” 


	2. When Freedom isn't Freeing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our first introduction to another major character in this story.  
(Alternate title: when you really hate this one guy but he's the closest person to your age in this entire castle so you put up with him even though he makes you feel sad)

If you asked Ludwig von Koopa what his biggest regret was, or perhaps his worst mistake, he’d most likely proclaim he has no regrets and he makes no mistakes. He’d perhaps tell you that he is one of the most eloquent, well-mannered young men in the palace and its general vicinity. He’d tell you nobody is as admired and respected as he.    
  
You shouldn’t believe a word of what he says.

  
  


While, yes, he could be described as eloquent and respected, the latter is only true because he’s the King’s eldest son. He’s the heir to the throne- and nobody likes it. Ludwig often keeps to himself, and on the rare occasion he is outside the palace, his actions could only be described (in the most articulated manner of speaking, as he wouldn’t have it any other way,) as full of enmity. He’s oftentimes cold and cruel and careless. After all, he has everything he needs, so why should he care about anyone else? He never has and he most likely never will. 

A knock on his (quite ornate) music room’s door distracted him from his idle thoughts. With a sigh, he got up and opened the door. Light immediately rushed in, causing the koopa prince to put a hand up and shield himself from becoming blind.

“Hi!” The smiling face of Princess Peach greeted him. “Can I come in?”

Ludwig said nothing, but left the door open for her. She followed him in, looking around the room as she did so. 

“This is a quaint little thing,” she mused, running a gloved finger over the top of the prince’s piano. 

“Quaint?” He scoffed. “Talk about old-fashioned,  _ Prinzessin _ . Still, I wouldn’t expect any less of you, given your… stature.” He looked down at her, grinning at his little joke. Peach felt a little self-conscious once she realised he was actually  _ checking her out, _ and she scowled. 

“My apologies,  _ Your Royal Highness _ ,” she drawled.”Would you prefer clandestine, then? It’s not as if it was easy to find this place.” She crossed her arms, a smug look on her face.   
  


Ludwig wasn’t one to be deterred, though, and he seemed determined to win their little game. “Oh? Well, at least I’m not like my father,” he quipped. “Strutting around, brazenly flaunting whatever shiny new toy he’s got… all I’m saying is, it’s no surprise everyone knows you’re kidnapped all the time.” 

Peach looked away, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. Ludwig raised a blue eyebrow at her.

“What’s with… what’s with the furtiveness? You’re acting all awkward…” 

Peach sighed, and relayed the… ‘necessary actions’ she had performed to get away from the King. “I, uhm… I managed to get your dad to let me… wander around the castle- on the condition I promised to stay for a week and let him, uhm… persuade me to stay here long-term. As in… permanently.” Perhaps her message was a little implicit, but with Ludwig’s intellect he could no doubt decipher what she meant. 

“You’re a sycophant,” he snarled. 

“And you’re a callous young man, from what I’ve been told.”

He looked at her coldly. “Maybe you shouldn’t listen to rumours,  _ Prinzessin _ . I don’t… it’s none of my concern as to whether or not people take umbrage at what I say or what I do. I, for one, am sick of trying to appease everyone. You try so hard, and yet... “ He sighs. “You need to understand that… life isn’t as simple as you make it out to be. Life is hard, okay? We don’t live in some serendipitous, happy-go-lucky fairy-tale world, where everyone gets their perfect happy ending, or where everyone is friends.  _ Prinzessin _ , I know what they say about me. That they hate me. I’m a monster. That I don’t deserve to call myself a prince. This isn’t one of your dreams, Peach. This is the real world, and you need to fucking grow up.”

  
  


Hot tears rolled down Peach’s cheek. Ludwig sighed.

“Get out.”

She looked down, ashamed. “I… I’m sorry, I just-”   
  
“I SAID GO!” He roared. 

Peach let out a terrified whimper, yet complied regardless. She shut the door behind her, leaving Prince Ludwig alone in the dark. 


	3. A conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peach encounters one of the other koopalings. A little emotionally drained from the events that happened a few minutes ago, the Princess is grateful to be able to talk about what happened. 
> 
> Wendy also has an inkling of an idea as to the source of all Peach's woes...

Peach quickly ran down the spiral staircase that led to Ludwig’s music room, ignoring the wetness on her face. She had to get away. She had to distance herself from  _ him. _

He shouldn’t have such an effect on her. She’s older than him. He’s still practically a  _ child. _ She shouldn’t care. She shouldn’t care about what he says or what he does or what he thinks of her. She shouldn’t care if he wants to be cold and callous and uncaring. 

Except… she does. She  _ does  _ care. His words  _ do _ matter to her. And she can’t figure out why. 

  
  


Distracted by her own thoughts, Peach almost didn’t notice that she had collided with someone else down one of the many hallways in Bowser’s castle. To be precise, she had collided with Wendy O. Koopa. 

The koopaling didn’t seem pleased at having been bowled over, but upon realising it was  _ Peach _ whom she had been knocked over by, her glare softened. She pulled herself up, and smiled at the other princess.   
“Hey, Peach! How are you?”

Peach shrugged pathetically, causing Wendy to raise an eyebrow skeptically. “You do know, girl. Don’t give me that. What happened?” 

Another shrug in response, except this time Peach felt like she was going to cry. She managed to get something resembling a sentence out of her mouth, though she broke down into tears once she even uttered  _ his  _ name. Wendy sighed, picking Peach up, and carried the human girl to her room.

  
  
  


“Tell me what happened from the start, yeah?”

Wendy had brought Peach to her room, and allowed the girl to calm down, of course with cuddles as a key part of the comforting. Peach was crying-  _ Peach _ was  _ crying. _ That’s something that Wendy rarely sees, so clearly this is a certified big deal. She hadn’t really had much experience with comforting other girls- or rather, other  _ Princesses _ . She just did what she would want someone to do for her: give her lots of cuddles, ask her what happened, and maybe supply chocolate. Wendy didn’t actually  _ have  _ any chocolate on her at the moment, so the first two items on her list would have to do. Peach didn’t really seem in any state to need chocolate at the moment, anyway. 

The other girl had calmed down somewhat by this point, or at least enough that she could get words out. 

“I… I was talking to your father, and then I left, and I was talking to your brother, uhm… Ludwig, I think? And he was saying some really nasty things to me, and he said stuff like I was playing with your dad’s emotions just so I could get what I want, and he said that… that… he said some really bad things about himself, too… and I’m worried for him…”

Wendy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If Peach was worried about Ludwig, then that was important to Wendy too… even if her older brother did suck. Loads. The part that Wendy was more concerned about, though, was the loser saying that Peach was playing with her dad’s feelings. There’s  _ no way _ that was true! She was also worried about Peach’s feelings, sure, but did Ludwig really think that Peach was  _ that _ bad of a person? Maye her brother was a worse person than Wendy thought. However, now wasn’t the time to worry about any of that. Right now, Peach needs Wendy’s comfort.

“So what? Why do you care about him if he’s mean to you? I mean, if it were me, I would’a shoved his head so far up his--” Wendy coughed- “I mean!!! I would’ve been cruel right back to him! Just cuz he’s the Crown Prince doesn’t mean he gets to act all bossy like that! Don’t let it get to you, Peachy. Ludwig’s just a meanie.”

Peach just shrugged, and nuzzled Wendy. 

“I’m worried about him. People are saying mean things to him, and the worst part is he’s listening to it all… what if one day he really, truly thinks he’s a bad person?”

Wendy scoffed. “Let him. He deserves it for being such a pain in the ass. Like… he said all of that ad stuff about you, didn’t he? So clearly he’s just a piece of trash, and we shouldn’t care about what he thinks of himself. He’s gotta learn, Peachy. You didn’t do anything wrong, and you’ve got nothin’ to worry about. I mean, you  _ aren’t  _ playing with dad’s feelings, are you?”

Peach thought for a second, and then nodded. “I mean, I guess I am… I kissed him and said he could try to get me to like him, and that’s why I’m allowed to walk around the castle. Ludwig isn’t wrong.” Peach laughed shakily, and then broke down into tears again. Wendy thought quickly about what to say next. 

“Well… Why do you even care if it is true? You’re… you’re doing it cause you gotta, right? Like, you just want your freedom, so why can’t you have it? Are you really that bad for wanting to be able to walk around once in a while?” 

Peach shook her head, hugging Wendy tighter. She stayed silent, so Wendy decided to, too. Peach would figure out what would be best in her own time. 

It wasn’t long after their conversation that Peach sat up, and made a move to get up. 

“Thank you for talking to me, Wendy. I… needed to hear that.”   
  
Wendy shrugged. “Anytime, Princess. Anything for you.” 

Peach thanked her once more, before leaving the younger girl’s room and going for another stroll around the castle. Perhaps she could go and see if there was a garden here…

  
  


Wendy couldn’t help but sigh as Peach left the room. There was only one explanation as to why Peach cared about the opinion of someone she’d hardly spoken to before, and Wendy was  _ not  _ pleased about it. Still, maybe she’d be wrong. Maybe Peach  _ did  _ have standards. 


End file.
